Never Gutless

Sunday, June 21, 2009

XDMC #11 "Create a Little Bad Evil Guy" is up!

As if i wasn't still backlogged enough with all of my previous entries that i have yet to put up on the blog, the 11th Expert Dungeon Master's Competition (XDMC) has opened up on the Wizards forums. This competition has been running for a fairly long time since the birth of 4e DnD and is a place to let your creative juices flow. I've been taking part for the last 3 XDMC's with very little success, but maybe the one will be different.

This month's competition is entitled " Create a Little Bad Evil Guy"here is the synopsis:"A good DM can create a compelling villain (the "Big Bad Evil Guy") to antagonize adventurers for a dramatic climactic final confrontation. But it takes an Expert DM to create a lesser villain who is equally memorable. Lackeys, sidekicks, rivals, minor antagonists. All require care to craft. This entry asks you to create a memorable minor villain (the "Little Bad Evil Guy") for the adventurers to confront."

Well, doesn't that sound interesting??

The competition has several main rules, which can be found on the thread, but the real fun from this competition comes in the constraints... welll, kind of constraints, kind of building blocks. Each entry must include at least 3 of the following optional elements:

1. At least one confrontation is a non-combat skill challenge that uses no Charisma-based skills as primary skills.

2. Fulfilling a minor quest (described in the entry) could cause the villain to become neutral to, or allied with, the adventurers.

3. The adventurers discover the villain has information or a unique item useful against the main antagonist.

4. The entry presents statblocks for the villain at multiple tiers of play.

5. The entry summarizes three or more hypothetical confrontations that include the villain.

6. The villain is neither humanoid nor unintelligent.

7. The villain is Small or Tiny in size.

8. The villain is the spouse, offspring, or parent of the main antagonist.

10. When first encountered, the villain appears to be the main antagonist, but isn’t.

Sounds like fun right? Why not get over and enter? The competition is a great place to be creative and interact with some of the creative geniuses that float around on the Wizard's forums. If you win, you get a cool little Title below your name, the chance to judge further competitions, a boost for your ego, and mad streed cred (...well, maybe not street cred, but at least forum cred...). Hope to see you there! Good luck on your entries!